


i can't really help it if my tongue's all tied in knots

by anna_kat



Series: Ward x Simmons Ship Week [2]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Ward x Simmons Ship Week, wsshipweek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-06
Updated: 2014-10-06
Packaged: 2018-02-20 02:22:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2411444
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anna_kat/pseuds/anna_kat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>One would think that she’d be better at saying what she means, considering how constantly she finds herself talking. He’s not good with people. In general.</p><p>For the theme 'poor communication skills'.</p>
            </blockquote>





	i can't really help it if my tongue's all tied in knots

**Author's Note:**

> From day two of WardxSimmons Ship Week back in February, for the _poor communication skills_ theme.

One would think that she’d be better at saying what she means, considering how constantly she finds herself talking. She knows the reality of it: she can speak for days on end about the things she knows, the things she finds interesting. She knows how to say things on different levels, to help different people understand.

What she doesn’t do well is find the right words to fit what she thinks in many situations about other topics. Or rather, she doesn’t always find the _courage_ to say what she wishes to.

Especially when it’s concerning the man currently limping into the lab.

She gets him to sit up on one of the counters, does a quick check to make sure he’s not actually dying, then flicks him in the face.

What she means: _Please be more careful._

What she says: “You’re one of the biggest idiots I’ve ever met.”

 

-

 

He’s not good with people. In general. He played indignant when Coulson brought up Agent Hill’s drawing because it seemed like a better option than admitting that it was a rather accurate depiction.

Sometimes, when he can’t escape a social situation, he even tries to pretend like he’s on an undercover mission. He’s good with undercover, but faking it to get through a conversation doesn’t work in the slightest. Usually, he’s just left more embarrassed afterward, anyway.

He speaks six different languages, and not one of them makes it any easier to say things to her like a normal person.

When the gunfire stops, he thinks he and May kept everyone covered, but a quick check reveals her huddled on the far side of the building, clutching her bullet-grazed thigh and the samples she’d refused to leave behind.

What he means: _I’m trying to keep you safe._

What he says: “Do you have some kind of death wish, Simmons?”

 

-

 

She spies his birth date in his file after she does an exam.

What she means: _It’s nice to know something about you I didn’t know before._

What she says: “Oh, you’re older than I thought you were.”

 

-

 

He catches her making tea in the early morning, wearing just a large t-shirt.

What he means: _I find you incredibly beautiful._

What he says: “Um. Legs.”

 

-

 

She’s stitching him up in multiple places for the millionth time.

What she means: _I’d like you live a long life._

What she says: “One of these times you’re just going to die.”

 

-

 

She asks if he’ll train her to defend herself against attackers.

What he means: _I don’t want you to have to defend yourself when I’m supposed to keep you safe._

What he says: “You can’t defend yourself.”

 

-

 

He finds her awake in the lab in the middle of the night.

What she means: _I’m having trouble sleeping, but you make it easier._

What she says: “You’re like a teddy bear.”

 

-

 

He wants to take her to dinner when they’re on the ground in Italy.

What he means: _I’d like to spend time with you._

What he says: “I like spaghetti."

 

-

 

What she says: “There he is.”

“It’s adorable.”

“You’ve actually managed to reopen all your stitches.”

“You’ve been hurt, let me take a look.”

 

What he says: “I know.”

“Don’t say I never gave you anything.”

“Don’t come out until I get you.”

“I’ll catch you if you fall.”

 

What it means: _I love you_.


End file.
